5 things to know about easing of China's one-child rule

Nov. 15, 2013
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This picture taken on November 14, 2013 shows a man playing with his child at a park in Yichang, central China's Hubei province. China's Communist rulers announced an easing of the controversial one-child policy amid a raft of sweeping pledges unveiled including the abolition of "re-education" labour camps and loosening economic controls. / STR AFP/Getty Images

by Marisol Bello, USA TODAY

by Marisol Bello, USA TODAY

China is loosening of its decades-old one-child policy by allowing two children for families with one parent who was an only child.

Here are five things to know about the easing of the one-child rule:

1. The policy may not have as much of an impact as people think because living in the cities is expensive, says New York University economics professor Ann Lee, who specializes in China's economy.

2. If a significant number of women do decide to have more children, it may create a labor shortage in the short term as women leave the workplace to care for the children, Lee says.

3. As China's economy strengthens, it will likely follow the path of Europe and the United States, where women following careers have fewer children and wait longer to have them, Lee says.

4. Socially and culturally, easing the one-child rule reduces pressure on the only-child to succeed, Lee says. Right now, she says, there is tremendous pressure on only children to do well in school and economically.

5. The change may address China's status as the nation with the most abortions, including forced abortions and sex-selective abortions that have caused unrest and skewed China's sex ratios.